Because all I have to remember Willie Mays, the baseball player, is a list of numbers and a bunch of picture cards, he is forever young. My opinion of him was forged through folklore and stories. I really love Willie Mays the baseball player. However...
...I also once met Willie Mays, the retired autograph seller. Now, I cannot imagine having a line of people I have never met all line up to get my signature on a photograph or a baseball. I also cannot imagine the stresses, the boredom, or even the burden of that. I have met a lot of sports stars this way and most of them have been friendly or at least cordial about the whole thing. Alas, like a lot of people I have spoken to, my experience with Willie Mays was not a good one. He did not look up. He would not shake my hand. He barely acknowledged my existence.
I have also seen Willie Mays interviewed and he loves to talk about baseball. He seems like an intelligent and friendly man. If he hates doing memorabilia shows so much, I think he could find a better way to spend his time, plus, no doubt a man of his fame could find other ways to make money. Much like most people would rather remember Willie Mays young and running first to third, losing his hat in a blur rather than the broken down player he was with the Mets, I would much rather remember Willie Mays, the baseball player and not Willie Mays, the retired autograph seller.
Lucky for me, I have never let my 30 seconds in the presence of Willie Mays taint any memory I have of him. Really, that's because I have no memory of him. He is still the myth. He is still larger than life. He is still forever young. Say Hey!
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Love your Willies. Wait that sounds a little wrong. I mean nice cards! I would think Mays could sell his auto online or by mail and make a fortune. No clue why he does shows if he doesn't enjoy the personal contact with fans. I can understand an idolized star who's been asked for his autograph for 60 years being tired of it. Just stop then. Like musicians, artists, and writers I appreciate athletes for their work. It's a bonus when they're also nice people. Of course there are extreme cases where personality can trump performance.
ReplyDeleteI think if I stood in line for an autograph and the autographer wouldn't even look at me, let alone say hello, it would be the last time I would ever stand in line for an autograph.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that I need validation from the person, it's just common courtesy from one human being to another.
I'm aware of the circus atmosphere of being a huge star, but I just don't get that (which is probably why I don't stand in line for autographs).